If You Build It, They Will Come

   Here's my updated list for Iowa Connections on NBA teams.  There are 27 connections at the start of the 2023-24 season.  Connections are sparser than the NFL, so I will only list teams with connections.  Looks like we are cheering for a Milwaukee/ Phoenix Finals this year! (Shout out to Sacramento, Utah, Golden State, Dallas, Indiana and Atlanta)  Note: Coaches/Staff in  italics . Note: These players/coaches/staff are not with NBA teams this after they were last year:  Nate Bjorkgren  (Buena Vista),  Paul Jesperson  (UNI),  Mike Dunlap  (Iowa),  Dave Joerger  (Cedar Rapids River Raiders), Al McCoy (Drake), Aaron Nelson (ISU) Note: This will change as players get added throughout the season and as I discover assistant gms that went to Iowa colleges.  Some names to watch include: Tyger Campbell, Terry Stotts, and  Joe Wieskamp 

  The 2023 NBA draft is complete, and we have updates on the Iowa Connections available for this draft.

 Here's my updated list for Iowa Connections on NBA teams.  Connections are sparser than the NFL, so I will only list teams with connections.  Looks like we are cheering for a Milwaukee / Sacramento Finals this year! (Shout out to Toronto, Utah and Atlanta)  Note: Coaches in  italics . Note: These players are not with NBA teams this after they were last year:  Joe Wieskamp (Iowa),    Abdel Nader (ISU), Lindell Wingginton (ISU),  Tyler Cook  (Iowa)   ,  Matt Thomas (ISU) Northern Iowa : 6 Iowa State Cyclones : 5 Iowa Hawkeyes : 4 Ames : 2 Buena Vista : 1 Iowa Energy : 1 Pella: 1 Cedar Rapids River Raiders: 1 Iowa Wolves: 1 Marion: 1 2 - Sacramento :          Harrison Barnes  (Ames),  Keegan Murray (Iowa) 2 - Milwaukee :        A.J. Green (UNI),  Mike Dunlap  (Iowa) 2 - Toronto :               Nick Nurs e (UNI),...

 The NBA season is now complete, and we can now see how the Iowa Connections did in the playoffs.  Reminders, we root for the team with the most Iowa Connections, and ties go to the blog. Nick Nurse 3 - Toronto :               Nick Nurs e (UNI),  Trevor Gleeson  (Iowa Energy),  Nate Bjorkgren  (Buena Vista) 2 - Chicago :      Tyler Cook  (Iowa)   ,  Matt Thomas (ISU) 2 - San Antonio:        Joe Wieskamp (Iowa),    Doug McDermott (Ames) 2 - Denver :           Monte Morris (ISU),  Ryan Bowen  (Iowa) 2 - Sacramento :        Harrison Barnes  (Ames),  Tyrese Haliburton (ISU) 1 - Philadelphia :       Georges Niang (ISU) 1 - Detroit :                Luka Garza  (Iowa) 1 - Los Angeles Lakers :     Talen Horton-...

   Now, the NBA will tell you that the playoffs actually start after the play-in games, but this is Blog Town and I set the rules here.  NBA playoffs start now, and we can determine the teams that should win. Now let's recap the Iowa Connections from the start of the season.   Nick Nurse 3 - Toronto :               Nick Nurs e (UNI),  Trevor Gleeson  (Iowa Energy),  Nate Bjorkgren  (Buena Vista) 2 - Chicago :      Tyler Cook  (Iowa)   ,  Matt Thomas (ISU) 2 - San Antonio:        Joe Wieskamp (Iowa),    Doug McDermott (Ames) 2 - Denver :           Monte Morris (ISU),  Ryan Bowen  (Iowa) 2 - Sacramento :        Harrison Barnes  (Ames),  Tyrese Haliburton (ISU) 1 - Philadelphia :       Georges Niang (ISU) 1 - Detroit :       ...

We are down to the final four, and down to our last Iowa Connection.  Therefore, as the owner of this blog I declare that 2020-21 NBA Champion should be.... The Phoenix Suns! Be sure to fly those flags and root for Abdel Nader and the Suns! To see the full breakdown, visit the original post . Iowa Playoff Connections 1 - Phoenix :      Abdel Nader (ISU) 0 - Atlanta 0 - Milwaukee 0 - LA Clippers Playoff Results (0-0) Conference Championships (0-0) 0 Milwaukee vs 0 Atlanta 1 Phoenix vs 0 LA Clippers NBA Championship (0-0) 0 TBA vs 0 TBA

If your NBA team is out, it's nice to have a team to root for.  Below are the teams ranked by the thing that matters to this blog: the number of Iowa Connections.  TLDR Go Utah and Denver!  Boo most of the Eastern Conference! Iowa Playoff Connections 2 - Denver :           Monte Morris (ISU),  Ryan Bowen  (Iowa) 2 - Utah :                Georges Niang (ISU) ,  Matt Thomas (ISU) 1 - Portland :            Terry Stotts  (Cedar Falls) 1 - Brooklyn :              Tyler Cook  (Iowa) 1 - LA Lakers :      Talen Horton-Tucker (ISU) 1 - Phoenix :      Abdel Nader (ISU) 0 - Boston 0 - Atlanta 0 - Milwaukee 0 - Miami 0 - New York 0 - Washington 0 - Philadelphia 0 - LA Clippers 0 - Dallas 0 - Memphis Playoff Results (11-3) Let's see how the blog's rooting interests did....

Profile Bill Jones was  center for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1984-88 before playing in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets*.  Bill played professionally from 1988 to 2001, including a couple of stops with the Quad City Thunder**.   * Undrafted and did get a Hoops card! ** Bill was an All-Star in 1995, some notables from that game: Tim Legler, George McCloud, Flip Saunders, and Kevin Pritchard Personal Notes Those Hawkeye teams Bill Jones was a part of were some of the best in Iowa history.  These players played professionally afterwards:  B.J. Armstrong, Roy Marble, Al Lorenzen, Kevin Gamble , Les Jepsen, Brad Lohaus, Gerry Wright, and Ed Horton. Collection Notes I have 1/3 (33%) cards in my collection.

        Profile Harrison Barnes is a two time Iowa 4A State Basketball champion from Ames*, who went on to the NBA being drafted by Golden State in the 2012 NBA draft**.  Harrison won a title with Golden State, and also won a gold medal in 2016.   * Harrison played with future NBAer Doug McDermott on the team ** Iowa Connections in the draft: Barnes (1.7 Ames), Royce White (1.16 ISU), Justin Hamilton (2.45 ISU)  Personal Notes Harrison Barnes is a fun guy to read about.  Born and raised in Ames, he has shown success all through his life.  Academic success, athletics success, business success, and life success.  I love this generation of young stars who have their athletic careers but put that privilege they have from it and use it to build careers outside of playing and use it to help others. Collection Notes I have 44/2279 (2%) cards in my collection.

     NBA Draft Iowa Connections I'll be filling these in as I post in the blog.  I'll link to the players as they each get a post.  Currently, there eight years out of the 73 years that do not have a relevant Iowa basketball player (1950, 1954, 1955, 1972, 1994, 2005, 2009, 2011). Pre-Draft Era Hal Crisler, ISU 1947 Dick Ives, Iowa Herb Wilkinson, Iowa 1948 Ray Wehde, ISU Murray Wier, Iowa Gordon Flick, Drake 1949 John Pritchard, 7th, Drake Bill Evans, Drake 1951 John Rennicke, 6th, Drake Frank Clasbeek, 6th, Iowa 1952 Chuck Darling, 1st, Iowa Bob Clifton, Iowa 1953 Delmer Diercks, ISU 1956 Bill Logan, 5th, Iowa Carl Cain, Iowa 1957 Gary Thompson, 5th, ISU Phil Murrell, 6th, Drake 1958 Phil Murrell, 4th, Drake John Crawford, 6th, ISU Don Medsker, 12th, ISU 1959 Dave Gunther, 8th, Iowa 1960 Americas John-Lewis, 10th, Iowa 1961 Hank Whitney, 4th, ISU Gus Guydon, 4th, Drake Stacey Arceneaux, UDFA, ISU 1962 Don Nelson , 3rd, Iowa Jerry Foster, 6th, Drake Vince Brewe...

        Profile Tyler Cook was a forward for the Iowa Hawkeyes who signed with Cleveland after the 2019 NBA draft*.  Tyler played for Cleveland and Denver in the NBA, and now currently plays for the ... Iowa Wolves** in the G-League. * Iowa connections in the 2019 draft: Talen Horton-Tucker (2nd ISU), Marial Shayok (2nd ISU), Matt Thomas (UDFA ISU) ** Formally known as the Iowa Energy Personal Notes It must be crazy to be a player and be sent a box of hundreds of cards (or stickers) and have to sign each one of them.  Some players are pretty meticulous, while others scribble.  While Tyler's signature here leans more scribble, I do appreciate the simplicity of it.  He merges the T and C from his name and the end results is kinda nice.  Collection Notes I have 1/24 (4%) cards in my collection.

        Profile Marcus Paige was a point guard for the New Orleans Pelicans after being selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2016 NBA draft*.  Marcus played for North Carolina in college, earning 2nd Team All-American honors his sophomore season.  Marcus also played his senior season with the Tar Heels in which they made it to the championship game, but lost to Villanova.  Marcus is from Cedar Rapids**. * Iowa Connections:  Georges Niang (ISU), Paige (Cedar Rapids), and Abdel Nader (ISU) ** Well, Marion.  I don't know how those from Marion would care about being categorized under CR.  Like West Des Moines vs Des Moines, or Council Bluffs getting pulled into the Omaha metro, and of course Burlington and Bettendorf getting sucked under the Quad Cities moniker.   Personal Notes Marcus Paige is one of the better high school players to come around in the last decade or so.  Some others include Doug McDermott and Harrison Barnes...

The NBA Finals are played every year, and every year there is a winner.  The right team doesn't always win though.  No, sometimes the universe makes a mistake and the wrong team wins.  But how do we know who these "Misplaced Winners" are?   Well, this blog circles around one thing, and that's the Iowa Connection.  So, obviously every NBA Champion should have at least one Iowa Connection, but not every one does.  Either I've missed the connection (possible!), or the universe messed up.  Thanos snapped his fingers and the Warriors won.  So lets look at those Iowa-less NBA Champions and see who it should have been. If this universe happened, here number of titles these Iowa Connections would have gained: 9 - Don Nelson 4 - Kyle Korver 2 - Harrison Barnes 2 - Kelvin Cato 2 - Jeff Hornacek 2 - B.J. Armstrong 2 - Jimmy Rodgers 2 - John Johnson 2 - Fred Brown 2 - Willie McCarter 1 - Justin Hamilton 1 - Nick Collison 1 - Will Blalock 1 - Paul Shirley...

Here's my updated list for Iowa Connections on NBA teams.  Connections are sparser than the NFL, so I will only list teams with connections. Note: Coaches in italics . Note 2: Matt Thomas and Tyler Cook have played for 2 teams this year. Iowa State Cyclones : 7 Ames : 2 Iowa Hawkeyes : 2 Northern Iowa : 1 Buena Vista : 1 Cedar Falls : 1 1 - Brooklyn :             Tyler Cook (Iowa) 2 - Toronto :              Nick Nurs e (UNI),  Matt Thomas (ISU) 1 - Los Angeles Lakers :      Talen Horton-Tucker (ISU) 1 - Phoenix :      Abdel Nader (ISU) 2 - Sacramento :       Harrison Barnes (Ames),  Tyrese Haliburton (ISU) 2 - Indiana :                Doug McDermott (Ames),  Nate Bjorkgren (Buena Vista) 2 - Denver :           Monte Morris (ISU), Ryan Bowen (Iowa) 2 - Utah : ...

        Profile Victor Alexander was a former ISU* basketball star who played in the NBA for parts of 5 seasons and abroad for a few more.  He was drafted in the 1st Round in the 1991 NBA Draft** by the Golden State Warriors after 2 seasons of being named 1st team All-Big 8.   * NBA players he played with at ISU: Jeff Grayer and Sam Mack (? more below) ** The only Iowa connection in this draft :-(  Personal Notes In researching the footnotes for this profile, I came across the name Sam Mack.  On the ISU team page for 1988-89, he was listed as a team member and had the NBA logo next to his name.  However, I didn't remember his name from my collection, so I searched if he had any cards, and he does!  So how did I miss him?  Transferred after his first year from ISU and eventually ended up at Houston.  So yay Victor!  You helped me find Sam Mack. Collection Notes I have 18/76 (24%) cards in my collection.

        Profile Jimmy Rodgers is a former NBA head coach* with the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves.  He played college basketball at the University of Iowa.  While not having much success as a head coach, he was an assistant coach** on 6 NBA championship teams (3 with Boston, 3 with Chicago). * Other Iowa connected NBA coaches: Bill Fitch (Coe), Nick Nurse (UNI), Terry Stotts (Cedar Falls), Don Nelson (UofI), Fred Hoiberg (ISU), Nate Bjorkgren (Buena Vista),  and Jeff Hornacek (ISU) ** Rodgers first assistant coach job was with Bill Fitch in North Dakota where they coached Phil Jackson. Personal Notes As noted above, Jimmy Rodgers was a successful coach netting 6 NBA championships as an assistant coach.  However, as a head coach he was seen as somewhat a failure.  I find his career fascinating when you dig into it.  His first season with Boston, Larry Bird was injured for most of it, but he still made the playoff...

        Profile Kevin Gamble was a former Iowa Hawkeye who was drafted in the 1987 NBA draft* by Portland.  Kevin spent 10 years in the league, mostly with Boston.  Current he is a scout for the Toronto Raptors**.  Gamble also played for the Quad City Thunder in the CBA. * Iowa connected from this draft: Steve Alford (future UofI coach), Winston Garland (Southeastern CC), Brad Lohaus (UofI), Tom Schafer (ISU), Mike Morgan (Drake), Gerry Wright (UofI), Sam Hill (ISU) ** Along with Nick Nurse (UNI) Personal Notes Kevin Gamble had a decent career, but his best team may have been the 1986 Iowa Hawkeyes team.  He was part of a 1985 recruiting class which included B. J. Armstrong, Roy Marble, Les Jepsen and Ed Horton.  All of them played in the NBA.  The 1986 team reached #1 and was last second shot of making the final four that year. Collection Notes I have 20/108 (19%) cards in my collection.